Something scary happened. What could it mean?

Today when Gypsy was eating her dinner, she started choking. I mean, air cut off and everything. She walked off from her bowl so I followed her. She then proceeded to get up the food she was choking on and then fell over on her side. She recovered quickly and I was standing right there so was available to help her if she did not get it up but it was VERY scary!

Now, she is a pretty noisy eater and she occasionally will "cough" after eating. What could this be? The first thing that popped into my mind was elongated palate but I don't know the details on that (off to research now). Any thoughts? She does have a vet appt at the end of the week.

Re: Something scary happened. What could it mean?

I don't think she actually passed out. She was still awake when she fell over. I am going to put something in her bowl from now on to see if I can slow her down because she does "inhale" it so to speak. I am not sure why she does that! I feed her three times a day, as much as she wants at each feeding (she is only 4 months) so I would hope she wouldn't think it was her last meal or something. lol

All I know is that I about had a heart attack! I have never experienced anything like that before. She is a pretty noisy breather too. I think I might change our next appointment to the "bully" vet who is about an hour away just to have them look at her.

Re: Something scary happened. What could it mean?

Might want to go ahead and get a slow feeder bowl. I think the Bully vet is a good idea, make sure that they check that both her nostrils are open as well. You also need to watch her for any signs of respiratory infection, cough, lethargy, fever, just not being herself. You also might want to learn canine CPR.

Re: Something scary happened. What could it mean?

Oh dear @GatorRay I would've been so frightened. I have had Jake cough a few times and act like he's choking after inhaling his food. He has acted like he was going to barf. I figured he was eating much too quickly. Maybe Gypsy did this too and she actually cut off her breathing. I am sorry..mustve been terrifying. I will be watching to see what vet says. I have been threatening to put large rock in jakes dish to slow him down. Now..i know I will!

Re: Something scary happened. What could it mean?

I am sad that you had to experience what you did, but Thankful that Gypsy is okay. I do have experience with this situation, and not something I would want anyone to go through. I had a female bully, Ruby (RIP), that passed away Thanksgiving evening 2008, from Aspiration at 5 months old. She was eating her food and gave a Yelp as though she possibly was choking. She walked away from her bowl and tried to hide behind the couch. I immediately went to her and cleared her mouth in case she had choked on food, but there was none. In a matter of seconds her gums turned blue and she went limp, but her heart never stopped beating, therefore I could not do any CPR. We rushed to the nearest Emergency Vet and they put her in an oxygen cage. They took xrays and they showed no blockage, but her lungs were full of fluid. They tried to intubate her but she continued to bleed profusely and eventually passed away. The vet said that her capillaries in her lungs bursted and filled her lungs with blood. It took me awhile before I could even think of getting another pup. I took a Pet CPR class because I wanted to be sure that I would be able to respond, if ever need be again. Today I have another female bully named Roxy and she will be 2 years old in July. I was very cautious around feeding time, and I also purchased a feeding ball from Petsmart that helps to slow them down when eating. I also put her on bigger sized puppy kibble, so she would have to chew instead of just swallowing her food. I wish you the best and I hope I was of some help to you. Take care.

Re: Something scary happened. What could it mean?

Wow..@gizmo49ers..that is a horrible story. I am so sorry. This did convince me it's time to get a slow feeding bowl for Jake. He inhales his food. I thank you for this info. I'm sure it's still painful for you.

Re: Something scary happened. What could it mean?

I'm so happy she's ok...I would have been flipping out as well. I'm sure she was just eating too fast because puppies eat like they never had a meal in their life lol. Just to be safe def mention it to your vet this week